True or a Load of Malarkey?

I had to call a plumber last night to unclog my Toto Drake. One thing he did while he was here was to lift off the tank top to show me the underside. It has a rough surface. He said I had a "cheap" toilet because of the rough underside of the tank top. I told him I did a lot of research before buying the Toto Drake and that it had an excellent reputation. He said that Totos are a good brand, but that the Drake is a cheap model and that I should look for a Toto with a smooth-undersided tank top (porcelain like the outside of the tank top). Supposedly, the smooth underside doesn't deposit as much "sediment" with flushing that can contribute overall to cloggability (is that a word?). Is there anything to this? I'm willing to upgrade if it will help. Thanks for any advice.

A load...in fact, some places are intentionally (slightly) rough (like inside of the trapway) so it's harder for a piece of toilet tissue to cling to the side...the (slight) roughness allows a bit of water to catch an edge and peel it off, should it get caught. I don't have any issue with a company saving a few pennies by not taking time to make invisible areas pretty or smooth...the functional and visible areas are what's important. It takes a lot to clog a Drake (put a couple in my mother's house), and usually, a second flush clears things unless there's something like a toy, crayon, pen, etc. caught in the trapway. Porcelain on it's own is pretty impervious, adding a glaze can make it look prettier. There's a lot of unglazed porcelain tile...that stuff is not cheap, either!

No, I'm not making it up. I had to call Mr. Rooter. I hate calling them, but I was desperate. This is what he told me. He may have thought that because I'm a single woman, I would fall for this. That's why I asked. I'm sure he was hoping I'd buy a new toilet from him.

This is why most of us do not care for the franchise rooter companies. They often are not plumbers at all. As I understand it, the Toto Drake was first intended to be a commercial toilet because it was very difficult to clog. It was so effective that people began buy them for the residences. Although it does not have some of the newer flushing designs, it is not a cheap builder grade toilet. Many of us use these in our homes with little, if any, problems.

The top of the tank does not determine how well the bowl works. It's just a tank cover.

I hope your auto mechanic doesn't ask you if you need your muffler "bearings" checked?
That's a ploy to find out how little you know. I was telling my girl the other day about that one, and she said that she had been asked that before. So I guess it's pretty common to hear silly things like that when they are trying to con you.

Thirty-eight homeowners filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County, alleging that Roto-Rooter systematically pressured them into expensive and unnecessary excavation and sewer line replacement.

According to the Complaint, Roto-Rooter deliberately misrepresented the nature of its customers' plumbing problems, conveying that the homeowners had far more extensive plumbing problems than actually existed. As a result, Roto-Rooter charged homeowners between $3,500 and $17,000 for these unnecessary repairs. The lawsuit asks the court to order Roto-Rooter to stop its deceptive practices and to reimburse homeowners the amounts they paid for all unnecessary repairs.

Thirty-eight homeowners filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County, alleging that Roto-Rooter systematically pressured them into expensive and unnecessary excavation and sewer line replacement.

According to the Complaint, Roto-Rooter deliberately misrepresented the nature of its customers' plumbing problems, conveying that the homeowners had far more extensive plumbing problems than actually existed. As a result, Roto-Rooter charged homeowners between $3,500 and $17,000 for these unnecessary repairs. The lawsuit asks the court to order Roto-Rooter to stop its deceptive practices and to reimburse homeowners the amounts they paid for all unnecessary repairs.

Had a company come in on a backed up floor drain. They fixed the issue but said that the trap under the concrete floor was messed up and would come back to bust up the floor for big bucks. Years later had problems again but this time had Roto-Rooter come in. After he was finished, I asked if there was any problem. Got a dumb look from the guy. Told him the story and he told me a few where people almost got boned by crooks in the business. My neighbor had his basement floor busted up for a supposed broken trap. Still had a problem, hired another company who noticed work had been done. Checked with the city, no permit was pulled and turned them in. There are crooks in every line of service work that's why I "try" to do any job myself. I have two Ridgid machines now.

He was either trying to 'dazzle you with his brilliance" or "baffle you with B.S." but either way, his intention was to get a big commission by selling you a new toilet, (which is always a possibility when the worker's paycheck depends more on selling new stuff rather than fixing the old). I don't know of any company that would glaze the inside of the toilet tank cover. It would just be wasted time and material. Some "national" firms hire a trainee and a couple of weeks later he is an "expert".

Ha! This "expert" is a plumber with twenty years' experience. He needs to enroll in Toilet Tank Top 101. More likely, he was trying to con me.

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I've had a plumber tell me that 25 years in the business, he had never heard of the issue I was having with a sink install. "Sometimes" but not always time in a trade means nothing. Some are just naturals and some never learn much but it's enough to get by.

My father hired someone to install an attic fan during the summer, wired by a electrician with 20 years on the job. In the fall, he found out it ran all the time because it was making noise. I climbed up there with tester in hand, opened the junction box and started to laugh. My father asked what I was laughing about? The thermostat wasn't even wired into the circuit.